Remote Sensing of Soil Moisture in Restored Wetlands
Start Date
3-16-2026 2:10 PM
End Date
3-16-2026 2:19 PM
Abstract
This research investigates the relationship between remote sensing indices and soil infiltration dynamics of treated wastewater used for irrigation at a restored wetland site (Thomas Dairy) near Tigard, Oregon, that is managed by Clean Water Services (CWS). CWS is interested in understanding how treated wastewater moves through plants and soil in ecosystems that might be targeted for recycled water application. Field measurements using advanced sensors (TEROS and ATMOS devices) were compared both to true color and multispectral images collected by a UAS system as well as satellite imagery from Sentinal-2 to determine relationships between measured soil moisture and GNDVI and NMDI indices. Analysis is compared to prior and ongoing research of soil infiltration dynamics at the site.
This study provides a geospatial lens to the fate of recycled water in restored wetlands, and an additional monitoring tool to ensure compliance with rules and regulations around recycled water use as well as attempting to quantify the agronomic rate of a native plant community. Remote sensing can provide an additional assessment tool to tailor irrigation practices to plant health on site.
Subjects
GIS / modeling, Habitat restoration, Land/watershed management
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Remote Sensing of Soil Moisture in Restored Wetlands
This research investigates the relationship between remote sensing indices and soil infiltration dynamics of treated wastewater used for irrigation at a restored wetland site (Thomas Dairy) near Tigard, Oregon, that is managed by Clean Water Services (CWS). CWS is interested in understanding how treated wastewater moves through plants and soil in ecosystems that might be targeted for recycled water application. Field measurements using advanced sensors (TEROS and ATMOS devices) were compared both to true color and multispectral images collected by a UAS system as well as satellite imagery from Sentinal-2 to determine relationships between measured soil moisture and GNDVI and NMDI indices. Analysis is compared to prior and ongoing research of soil infiltration dynamics at the site.
This study provides a geospatial lens to the fate of recycled water in restored wetlands, and an additional monitoring tool to ensure compliance with rules and regulations around recycled water use as well as attempting to quantify the agronomic rate of a native plant community. Remote sensing can provide an additional assessment tool to tailor irrigation practices to plant health on site.